Coretta Scott King Author Book Winner

HEART AND SOUL: THE STORY OF AMERICA AND AFRICAN AMERICANS, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is a moving story that chronicles the lives of African Americans throughout U.S. history. The story begins with slavery and moves through the Civil War, Reconstruction , Westward Expansion, the Depression, World Wars, and the Civil Rights Movement.It  discusses the injustices and struggles African Americans faced as they helped define their country. It is a story of hope, inspiration, and courage. Beautiful oil painting illustrations depict African American life from the colonial days to the present.This book was awarded the Coretta Scott King Author Award.(Balzer + Bray, 2011).

Elephants and Bears....oh my!

I BROKE MY TRUNK, written and illustrated by Mo Willems, is part of the adorable Elephant and Piggie series. Elephant Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. In this book, Gerald tells Piggie the long, crazy story about how he broke his trunk.This beginning reader book has clean pages with simple illustrations and sentences. Colored thought bubbles surround Gerald and Piggie's conversation making it easy to distinguish who is saying what.Elephants thought bubbles are gray and Piggie's are pink.This delightfully charming book was named as a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book.(Hyperion Books for Children, 2011)
 

I WANT MY HAT BACK, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, is about a bear who has lost his hat and worries he will never see it again.......or wait, has he? Bear asks friend after friend if they have seen his missing hat. Their replies are written in contrasting colors of ink. Simple sentences, clean pages, and earth tones provide a neutral canvas against the missing hat's pop of bright red.Will you spot it? This beginning reader book is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor recipient.(Candlewick Press, 2011)

Child's Play

ME...JANE , written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell, is the charming story of Jane Goodall.As a young girl., Jane receives a stuffed toy chimpanzee that she takes everywhere she goes. She explores birds, spiders, squirrels and other plants and animals in her backyard.She makes sketches and takes detailed notes of her findings. She dreams of one day traveling to Africa to study and help the animals there. The story ends with the realization of this dream and an actual photograph of Jane Goodall with a baby chimpanzee.This sweet story is a Caldecott Honor Book winner.(Little, Brown and Company, 2011).
 

 BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is a Sibert Award Winner. This is the story of Tony Sarg , the puppeteer of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a boy, Tony loves marionettes and puppets. He spends all of his spare money on toys that are curious and interesting.Fascinated by these puppets, he studies them and the mechanics behind how they move. He later moves to London and then New York where he begins performing on Broadway. Macy's commissions him to design their parade in 1928.It is such a hit and becomes a tradition we still enjoy today.(Houghton Mifflin, 2011).